Project Title

Project Title>

The pathogenesis of autism: Maternal antibody exposure in the fetal brain

Principal Investigator

Principal Investigator

Description

Description

There is abundant evidence that autism occurs in families with evidence of autoimmunity. There is also evidence that mothers of an autistic child may have antibodies that react with brain tissue and even evidence that these antibodies, when given to pregnant mice or pregnant monkeys, cause behaviors in the offspring analogous to aspects of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The investigators will explore the role of maternal antibodies in ASD, identifying maternal sera with anti-brain antibodies, determining if these antibodies can cause brain pathology and neurologic abnormalities in mice exposed to them during pregnancy, characterizing the brain antigen(s) recognized by the antibodies, and assessing how frequently these antibodies are present in mothers of an autistic child. This group will also examine children born to mothers with particular maternal antibodies and examine the relationship between these circulating antibodies and autism behaviors in the children.